by Maristella Bertram, MBA, CPO® | Aug 1, 2022 | Get Organized Blog, Home Organizer, Medium, Professional Organizer
The Universe Conspires
Paulo Coelho, the author of “The Alchemist,” said, “And when you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.”
This quote makes me think of a blog I wrote some time ago, highlighting the importance of summoning your strength and your will and using your head when your heart won’t just take you where you ought to be. And when you do that, the universe responds accordingly by boosting your journey.
The Energy Follows
Some weeks ago, a very dear friend of mine wrote to me recounting her story, which reminded me of the words from Paulo Coelho and my own blog.
Thinking about her journey, I saw that some instances are more challenging than others, but that no matter the circumstances, when we put our attention and intention towards a goal, the energy around us will carry us forward.
When emotions prevent us from acting, we must do whatever it takes to bypass those emotions and raise our energy. Soon, that energy will change your feelings. In time, it will feel easier to achieve your goal.
A Little Story of Hope
Here is the story of my dear friend and her emotional journey following one of the most challenging times of her life:
After my marriage ended, the kids and I returned to our previous home, in Fall 2017, right after hurricane María. We came to a sad, dark, beaten, dirty house without running water or power. Even remembering this makes me so emotional.
Right after we moved back, as sad, dark, and dirty as the house was, I knew I had to face this move with grace, determination, efficiency, and elegance, or the situation would defeat me.
So, I started cleaning, decluttering, and organizing right away. And then something fantastic happened! Plants welcomed me with palpable excitement, birds would come to watch me rebuild our life here, and orchids suddenly bloomed. I felt like Snow White!
I had stimulated the home’s energy, and it came to my rescue. I felt at peace. Only the home office remained to tackle. But one day, I just felt exhausted. So I shut the door to the home office to avoid dealing with that room for a while.
This room quickly became chaotic because I had abandoned my systematic decluttering and organizing efforts for a moment. And maybe because this room was already messy, the movers continued piling random things and unopened boxes in that room whenever something else came home from the last house.
As time passed, I recognized why this home office was a pause point for me. It carried a heavy emotional burden for all that it represented:
- a broken business partnership
- the place where we envisioned so many family plans
- pictures and memories of a once happy couple
- past team effort toward my professional goals
- a smaller space where I needed to start all over again now
- physical and emotional clutter I needed to let go of to move forward
It was a lot, and I had placed all these emotions in that room. So finally, I had to pause and decided to shut the door.
Although that room still needs attention, my feelings have now changed. At this moment, I feel the strength to open that door and face it all. Even more, I know this change in feelings has a lot to do with the fresh energy brought by the much-needed pause I gave myself. I recharged my emotional battery by maintaining the rest of the house organized and clutter-free.
Maristella, I want you to know that your blog validates my path on this journey. Somehow along the way, reading your blog, that connection between clutter and emotions you write about dawned on me. I saw how the states my home had been through correlated with my path to emotional healing!
Your blogs are very helpful, even for those of us that already experienced what you preach. The life principles you promote through your business are a vital ministry that enhances the lives of others, helping us heal and live with greater peace and wellbeing.
So, please send me your best wishes and energies to engage in this final effort – I promise to send you pictures of the room once I finish!
You’ve Got This!
When you direct your attention, intention, and best effort toward those big goals in your life, the universe conspires in your favor. It whispers: “you’ve got this! I’ve got your back.”. Don’t doubt it!
by Maristella Bertram, MBA, CPO® | Jun 3, 2022 | Get Organized Blog, Home Organizer, Medium, Professional Organizer
The Body Knows
Our environment can make us sick. I’m not necessarily referring to pollution, but rather how we react to our environment. We react consciously and subconsciously. We are energy. Everything around us is energy. Even the colors we see are nothing other than different wavelengths of energy, and we know colors have the power to impact our mood. Thus, restoring proper body and mind energetic flow seems essential to practice self-care.
It is impossible not to react to our environment in one way or another. You might not react consciously, but our bodies know. Our subconscious minds know. I first learned about this through an acupuncturist when he showed me how the “muscle test” works. He showed me how the body is the best lie detector. The body can’t lie, and it has a mind of its own.
So, regardless of our thoughts and what we perceive from our environment, the subconscious mind and the body know the truths we might not be aware of or purposely ignore.
The Energy of Clutter
In previous articles, I have discussed clutter and its psychological and physical effects.
In her book Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui, Karen Kingston says: “The word “clutter” derives from the Middle English word “clotter,” which means “to coagulate” – and that’s as stuck as you can get. Clutter accumulates when energy stagnates, and likewise, energy stagnates when clutter accumulates. Clutter begins as a symptom of what is happening with you in your life and then becomes part of the problem itself because the more of it you have, the more stagnant energy it attracts to itself. It starts with a bit and then slowly, insidiously, it grows – and so does the stagnant energy around it, which then has a correspondingly stagnating effect on your life. Sorting out your life by sorting out your junk results in a tremendous renewal of your life force energy.”
It’s no surprise that clutter directly interferes with the correct flow of energy, both at the physical and metaphysical levels (spirit and mind). So often, surrounding mess creates a physical or mental imbalance. However, the process can work in the opposite way – pains and tensions that make it impossible to deal with our clutter. Most times, these two scenarios feed off each other.
When clutter surrounds us, our physical and emotional energy is cramped. An impaired energy flow can cause adverse mental and physiological reactions. Unhealthy patterns emerge, and illness might follow. We should strive to be on the defense rather than relying on corrective methods when it comes to the energy in our bodies.
Holistic Practices That Prevent Disease
Traditional medicine is mainly an interventional solution for health problems and falls short on prevention. Practices such as essential oils, Chiropractic care, and Acupuncture are examples of holistic ways to correct our energetic flow and health.
Essential Oils
In my article The True Power of Essential Oils, I share a little of my own story with essential oils, as well as my genuine surprise to discover their true power.
Chiropractic Care
Plano Chiropractor, Dr. Brian Dillon, explains: “One of the many hidden benefits of chiropractic care is creating a more effective immune system by removing interference with the nervous system at the spinal level. For example, when the spine is out of alignment, the immune system is impaired, interfering with the body’s ability to heal. Being aligned allows the body to heal itself and help prevent “dis-ease.”
Acupuncture
Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist Xenia Maradiaga-Gross explains that “Acupuncture is part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine regards (and treats) patients as whole individuals, considering the physical, the emotional, and the mental, with both the conscious and the subconscious. When we suffer physical or emotional trauma that is left unaddressed, this might create an obstruction of energy over time. When this happens, energy gets stagnant, which disrupts the flow of blood and vital fluids. Then we experience physical symptoms like headache, tension, tiredness, cramps, bloating. Those symptoms are the body telling us that it is out of balance. Those symptoms affect our mood and quality of life. When we ignore chronic imbalances affecting organs and body systems, this might result in severe conditions and disease. Acupuncture addresses the patient’s symptoms and the root cause of energy imbalances creating those symptoms. It increases blood and energy flow in the body to properly restore its systems’ functions.”
Prevention Is Key
Practicing prevention seems like the best strategy to follow, given that the body and the subconscious mind perceive what we can’t notice. We don’t necessarily know when/where energetic disconnections occur. Leaving these disconnections unattended might result in those strange, spontaneous pains we experience from time to time. Even worse, illness might follow sooner than later.